Belkin Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater pictures and hands-on

Belkin is out to give you a big audio boost with its snug-fitting Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater for the iPad. Designed to bring big speaker performance to a portable device, the accessory could make all the difference to movie watching on the iPad. So how does it perform?

In what has to be the noisiest part of CES lurked the Thunderstorm, making it extremely difficult to get a good idea of just what sort of sound quality the accessory pushed out. The speaker dock has front-facing stereo speakers which were definitely loud enough, if a touch tinny, although our listening environment wasn't ideal.

The built-in amp in the device gives a decent boost and still leaves access to everything the iPad can offer, connections and all.

The snug fit means it doesn't add a noticable bulk to the iPad, although it does make it a lot wider. It feels very robust, however, and the lack of give in the wrap around the iPad lends it a premium feel.

Viewing scenes from the Dark Knight Rises, the audio range was good enough for us to hear Bane's voice. But what we really liked was just how sturdy the whole thing was - a nice tough case to stick on your iPad, although we imagine the speakers wouldn't last particularly long.

Belkin has made two versions of the device, one for Thunderbolt iPads and one without. Both looked and performed the same.